Predator: Huntress - Alpha

Chapter 11

Squinting, Justice turned over in the bed trying to block out the glow of sunlight. Stopping her turn instinctually at the warm presence next to her, Justice opened her eyes and looked down at Larsa's sleeping face. Dressed in a yellow and white striped onesie, her tiny fist lay centimeters from Justice's face while her other arm was splayed out to the side. Stretched out and very much content, her tiny chest rose and fell with each breath.

When was the last time Justice just sat and stared at her daughter like this? Carefully and quietly, so not to jostle the infant Justice lifted her hand to prop up her head. It had to be over a week ago on her last off day, right? That day she had purpsoely lounged in bed late and stared at Larsa through the slats of her crib and watched her sleep as her mind had drifted to her sisters. That day seemed like a lifetime ago.

Last night she had followed Jarak through the quiet jungle city until they reached the tree line at the edge of the city, walking a few more yards he had stopped in front of a much smaller pyramid tucked within the dense jungle's trees. It wasn't until she followed Jarak through the threshold did she finally understand his earlier words, "Rakkah has bestowed me a domicile." He had given them a new place to stay. Thankfully a much bigger one, she had thought with smirk.

Smiling even now, she looked over Larsa to the wall beyond and scanned the empty room. Unlike the palace, the inner walls of the pyramid were made out of a lighter gray metal leaving the only bit of contrast in the room: the black mattress and the large sloping windows along the slanted walls. But that was where the differences stopped. Everything else was utterly uniform with the yautja sense of style she was coming to know. Walking in last night, she had at first thought Rakkah had given Jarak a spare storage facility or something, the entire place seemed empty. But her retinal scans quickly revealed the house--pyramid--was just like the ship and his previous shoebox apartment, its walls were lined with hidden features. With complete, albeit silent, permission Justice had spent the better part of the night pushing buttons and exploring each room. It was easy to see the tiny pyramid was designed for a family: with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large common area which also contained the kitchenette area, and a storage room complete with a work bench and obvious meet hooks suspended from the ceiling, the new home was just perfect for the modern yautja.

Laughing at her own joke, she looked back down at Larsa as she slept. Above her was supposedly Jarak's room, though she had no idea if he was currently in it or not. With three levels and all identical bedrooms it wasn't much of a decision choosing the one she and Larsa would use, she had simply gone up the floating metal stairs and opened the first door on the left. Jarak had quietly watched her, slowly taking in the place himself during her brief tour of the empty space saying hardly anything as usual. Justice couldn't be sure what the brawny hunter was thinking as he had quietly sat crossed-legged on the metal floor in the living area last night. All the while as she experimented with the food processor, making herself nearly five plates of grilled fish and vegetables he had sat there in quiet contemplation. A few times she opened her mouth to speak, but found her shutting it promptly when she met his bright fire orange and red gaze looking back at her. At first, she was curious if he planned on staying there that night as well, but her answer was quickly answered when he later stepped outside the door and brought in a large metal box from outside and began removing various weapons and items. She assumed that was a yes to him living there then. Annoyingly the realization only led her thoughts down another trail that stopped at a particularly vexing thought. In the palace, during her public accounting of her life she remembered Jarak and Rakkah sharing some sort of silent exchange after she had asked Rakkah directly for his word that she and her daughter would be safe on Ojibwe. Did he assign her to Jarak? The thought more than bristled her pride, it made her want to march back down to that palace and have another word with the yautja leader.